Forgotten Faces = Untold Stories

Crowdsourcing family history: Help identify these unknown relatives so their stories can be discovered

Photographs are more than just images—they are glimpses into untold stories. But when names are unknown, so are the stories. Among the many family treasures I’ve inherited, nothing haunts me more than the nearly 100 unidentified cabinet card portraits in my collection. These aren’t just faces; they are my ancestors. Their histories remain untold simply because I don’t know who they are.

Most of these photos (including a few tin types!) originally belonged to my great-grandmother, Alice (Devine) Kerkow (b. 1890), who married Robert J. Kerkow (b. 1889) in 1910 (and again in 1912—a fascinating story that I previously wrote about). I believe the people in these portraits are their relatives—siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews. My educated guess is that the photos are linked to the Devine, Kerkow, Yassell, Jacobs, Geehan, Corcoran, Koreski, and Haggerty families. These relatives lived in Minnesota, the Dakotas, Washington D.C., and Washington state.

But without names, their histories are slipping away.

Wedding portrait of Alice Devine and Robert Kerkow. Circa 1910-1912. Original in possession of author.

And the unfortunate part is that I unknowingly stripped away clues that could have helped me identify these folks: I made the mistake of not preserving the original order of the photographs when scanning them. At the time, I didn’t realize how much the sequence of photos in an album or bundle could reveal about relationships. Now, they sit mixed together in one giant tote, making identification even more daunting.

But all is not lost. I have had some luck.

A while ago – gosh, over 10 years ago, I connected with a genealogy-minded cousin through AncestryDNA, and she has been instrumental in identifying several individuals. She is the cousin who had the original handwritten letters from the 1890s that I’ve recently leveraged AI to help glean insights. (Let me just say “huzzah!” for those who don’t hoard their family history research and insights!) To make collaboration easier with my new-found cousin, I uploaded all the scanned photos to a Flickr album, where she and others have been able to view, comment, and share information that contributes to identifying our ancestors.

Photo from my collection that was identified as Bridget (Geehan) and Joseph Koreski by a cousin with whom I had connected via AncestryDNA. Bridget is the sister to my 2x great-grandmother, Ellen (Geehan) Devine. Bridget and Joseph are the seated couple. The couple standing is suspected to be Joseph’s brother and his wife, but is not confirmed.

Can you help solve the mystery?

A screen capture of a portion of my Flickr album that has over 60 photos of unidentified ancestors.

Each face in these photos belonged to someone who lived, loved, and had a story worth remembering. I’d love your help in bringing them back into the family narrative.

View & share the unidentified photos!

If you recognize anyone or have clues, please comment on the Flickr album or reach out to me. Even the smallest detail—an inscription, a resemblance, or a familiar backdrop—could unlock a missing piece of history.